Automobile-cranker



A. C. TENNYSONI AUTOMOBILE CRANKER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24| ISIS.

.1 ,343,5 3 l Patented June 15, 1920.

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UNITED sTATps PATENT oFFTcE.

i `ALEXANDER C'. TENN'YSON, OF ALEXANDRIA, LOlLTISlAJSI'A.Y

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that l, ALEXANDER C. TnNNY- son, acitizen of the United States, residing at Alexandria, in the parish ofRapides and State of Louisiana,` have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automobile-Crankers, of which the following is aspecification. Y

rlhis invention relates to machine elements, and more especially tocranks and handles; and the object of the same is to produce an improvedcranker for automobiles.

A feature of the invention is to provide means whereby the crankautomatically disengages itself from the shaft when the handle isreleased.

A secondary feature `of the invention is to provide the deviceV withmeans whereby when the handle is releasedit moves with respect to thecrank, therebypermitting the ac tion of a latch within the latter whichnow moves to disconnect it from the crank shaft.

The object of the device is to protect the operator against injury incase of backfire.

Details of the manner in which this object is carried out are set forthin the following specification and claims.

In the drawings :f-

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through the entire device, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional details on the lines 2-2 and 3-'-3respectively of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates a shaft carrying a gear 2. Thismay be the engine shaft, although .by preference it is usually thecranking shaft which stands forward of and in alinement with the shattandv is connected therewith only when it is pushed. in as usual. Thesedetails are well. known and need no illustration. The crank is composedof two mating members 3 connected by bolts 4- and internally formed toreceive l"the mechanism hereinafter to be described. The upper end ofthe crank is ournaled at 5 on the shaft astride the gear 2, and normallyhangs inactive from the shaft 1 as shown in Fig. 1. Longitudinallymovable within the crank is a latch whose head 6 is adapted to engagethe teeth of the gear 2, but whose shank 7 is slidably mounted withinthe handle and is moved downward to within said crank to an inactiveposition by a spring 8 as shown.V The shank is mounted through suitableguides 9 and its lower 0r outer end stands within the lower or outer endof the crank for a purpose yet to ap- AUTOIVIBILE-CRANKER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Paatned une 15, 192() Application nledMarch 24, 1919.

Serial No. 284,690.

pear. Then this crank is borne inward, its head is engaged with thegear, and the crank is then latched to the gear and therefore to theshaft. At other times, the crank and shaft aredisconnected and thelatter may revolve without swinging the crank.

The handle is made up of body 10 mountedY fast on a bolt 11 whichextends loosely through the outer end of the crank Sand carries a nut12, and two wings 13 pivoted at 1e@ to the inner end of the handle andadapted to lie in grooves 15 along the sides of said body when the wingsare compressed. Forward of their pivots, these wings have each anose` orcam 16 against which rests a collar 17 slidably mountedon the front endof the body 10 and drawn toward it by an expansive spring 18 between thecollar and the crank 3. lt follows that when the wings arecompressedtheir. cams push the collar will slide through the same and the spring18 is compressed.

Pivoted at 20 within one side of the collar 17 is a linger 21 whichextends through a slot 22 in one side of the crank and across a chamber28 therein, and has a beveled or undercut tip 25 resting on an inclineor cam face 24 at the` other side of said chamber, as best seen inFig. 1. The position of this finger therefore causes it to pass underthe tip of the shank 7 of the latch 6, which latch is moved against thetension of the spring to engage its head with the gear 2. ln thedrawings the cam `16 at the front end of each wing is of such size as toonly start the finger forward andv perhaps throw its tip under the lowerend of the shank, but it is obvious that the cams might be made largerwithout departing from the principle of my invention.

In use, the operator grasps the handle and compresses the wings 13 intothe grooves 15 which moves the collar and nger 21 forward as suggestedabove. The tip 25ct the finger 21 rides up the cam face 24, which causesthe movement of the latch and the engagement thereof with the gear 2.Now he gives .the crank 3 the rotary movement as usual in cranking anautomobile. If the engine should back-fire, he of course immediatelyreleases the crank, when the spring 18 restores the parts to theposition shown in Fig. 1. Retraction of the finger 21 withdraws it frombeneath the shank 7 of the aid latch and the spring 8 of the latterdisconnects its head 6 from the gear, so that no y terials, dimensions,et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope Yof theappended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention,`vvhat Iclaim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patentl is:

l. In an automobile cranker, the combination with the crank shaft havinga gear, a crank journaled on the shaft, a latch movablymounted Withinthe crank and hai/ing a head' adapted to engage said gear, said crankhaving a chamber near its outer end with a slot opening into one side ofsame, and a cam `lace Within the other side thereof, of a. bolt throughthe outer end of the crank, a handle and a collar on the bolt,

a spring onthe bolt between the crank and the collar, and a fingermounted on the collar and projecting through the slot into contact vvithsaid cam, and means for moving said collar longitudinally of` said bolt.

2. In an automobile cranker, the combination With the crank shaft havingva gear, a crank journaled on the shaft, a latch movably mounted Withinthe crank and having a head adapted to engage said gear, means providedfor normally holdingsaid latch out of engagement with said gear, of abolt through the outer end of said crank, a handle positioned upon saidbolt aV distancefrorn said crank, a collar slidably'mounted upon saidbolt between said crank and said handle, means for 4causing said collarlto move longitudinally upon said bolt, anda cani finger pivotallymounted'on' said collar, said crank having a cam' surface and an apenlture leading thereto through Which said finger projects into Contactwith said cam surface. Y

In testimony whereof I afrik my signature in presence 'of twoWitnesses.v

ALEX-ANDER C. TENNYSON. Y

VVitne'sses:V Y' JN0; C; STUGKEY,

RE. STUGKEY.

